Caste Bias and Gender Gaps: 2025 India Justice Report Highlights Key Failures of the Legal System

New Delhi: The latest India Justice Report (IJR) has revealed a starkly uneven landscape in the delivery of justice across the country, with southern states consistently outperforming their counterparts. However, a closer examination of the report’s data exposes deep-rooted disparities based on caste and gender that continue to undermine the fundamental principle of equal access to justice for all citizens.

The IJR 2025, the fourth such comprehensive assessment published by Tata Trusts in collaboration with a consortium of civil society organisations, ranks states based on 24 indicators spanning the four pillars of the justice system: police, judiciary, prisons, and legal aid.

It provides a sobering assessment of how India’s justice system continues to falter on key indicators—especially for the most marginalised.

Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana top the rankings among large states, pointing to a consistent pattern of governance and investment in justice delivery. In contrast, Gujarat has seen a sharp drop from fourth place in the previous edition to 11th this year, while Maharashtra too has slipped significantly.

Yet, even the best-performing states are far from ideal. Across the board, the report highlights caste and gender disparities, poor infrastructure, and a chronic lack of human resources that hinder the functioning of key institutions.

Caste and gender gaps

The police force continues to be overwhelmingly male and dominated by privileged caste groups. While Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Class personnel form 59% of the police workforce, 61% of them remain concentrated at the constable level. At the level of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and above, the presence of officers from marginalised groups is drastically low. In many states, their share in officer-level posts is less than half of what their population mandates.

In Uttar Pradesh, for instance, the representation of SC people is 61% below what it should be based on population. Rajasthan (52%) and Bihar (42%) show similar patterns of underrepresentation. Karnataka is the only large state that meets its mandated quotas for SC, ST and OBC representation in both police and judiciary.

Women fare little better. They form just 11.75% of the police force across India, and most are concentrated at the lowest levels. Only Delhi meets the Union government’s benchmark of having one woman sub-inspector and 10 women constables per police station.

In the judiciary, women account for about 40% of judges at the district court level, but this number plummets as one moves up the ladder. In high courts, women constitute only 15% of judges. In the Supreme Court, just one out of 17 sitting judges is a woman.

Southern states lead, Gujarat and Punjab see sharp declines

Among large states, Karnataka has retained the top rank it held in the previous report. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana follow closely, reaffirming the trend of southern states outperforming others in justice delivery.

On the other end of the spectrum, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar remain among the lowest performers. Gujarat’s fall from third to eleventh place is particularly significant, especially as it coincides with a broader decline in its performance across police, judiciary and prison indicators. Punjab, too, has dropped in the rankings due to persistent human resource gaps and poor budget utilisation.
The report notes that some states, such as Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh, have shown consistent, if modest, improvement over the years.

Legal aid is woefully under-resourced

The Legal Services Authorities (LSAs) are responsible for providing free legal aid to eligible citizens under Article 39A of the constitution. However, implementation remains patchy.

Several states have just one legal aid lawyer for every 10,000-30,000 eligible citizens, and lack of training, poor working conditions, and delayed payments continue to undermine the effectiveness of the legal aid system.

Awareness also remains a major barrier, with many eligible individuals unaware of their right to free legal counsel. The quality of service provided varies widely, often failing to meet the needs of those it is meant to serve.

Prison infrastructure strained

The India Justice Report 2025 finds that Indian prisons remain severely overcrowded, with the national average occupancy rate standing at 118.5%. In several states, such as Uttarakhand (183%), Uttar Pradesh (176%), and Delhi (174%), the situation is far more dire, with prisons housing nearly twice as many inmates as they were built for. Despite multiple recommendations by Law Commissions and expert panels, expansion and modernisation of prison infrastructure have lagged far behind rising incarceration rates. In Uttar Pradesh, nine prisons are operating at over 250% capacity.

What is more troubling is the sharp and continuing rise in the population of undertrials. As per the latest figures, 77.1% of all prisoners in India are undertrials, up from 69% a decade ago. This increase reflects not only procedural delays but also deep-rooted biases in the criminal justice system.

Among undertrials, the overrepresentation of Dalits, Adivasis, and Muslims is stark. These three communities together form a disproportionately high share of undertrials compared to their population. For instance, while Muslims constitute about 14.2% of the population, they make up over 17.4% of undertrials. Similarly, those from SC and ST communities together make up more than 32% of the undertrial population.

Transparency remains a concern

While the India Justice Report draws solely from government data, it also flags serious issues with data availability and transparency. For instance, several states failed to provide recent information on case backlogs, police vacancies, and legal aid budgets.

The report also notes that many state human rights commissions themselves lack websites, do not publish annual reports, or have failed to provide data on complaints received and resolved. These commissions are meant to act as watchdogs safeguarding citizens' rights, yet their own opacity undermines public trust and accountability.

This lack of timely data not only hinders meaningful assessment but also raises questions about accountability and the political will to reform.

Lack of forensic resources

Across the country, over 30,000 cases requiring forensic analysis were pending in the latest year covered by the India Justice Report 2025. The crisis is particularly acute in states like Uttar Pradesh, which alone had a backlog of 11,047 cases, and Maharashtra, where 6,688 cases were awaiting forensic reports. In many states, there is less than one forensic expert per 1 lakh population, with Bihar and Jharkhand reporting especially severe staff shortages.

While the number of forensic labs has grown marginally – from 94 in 2020 to 110 in 2024 – this limited expansion has not kept pace with the rising demand.

Across the country, over 30,000 cases requiring forensic analysis were pending in the latest year covered by the India Justice Report 2025. The crisis is particularly acute in states like Uttar Pradesh, which alone had a backlog of 11,047 cases, and Maharashtra, where 6,688 cases were awaiting forensic reports. In many states, there is fewer than one forensic expert per 1 lakh population, with Bihar and Jharkhand reporting especially severe staff shortages.

While the number of forensic labs has grown marginally – from 94 in 2020 to 110 in 2024 – this limited expansion has not kept pace with the rising demand. The backlog threatens to derail timely investigations and trials, especially in serious crimes where forensic evidence plays a critical role.

While the incremental progress observed in some states offers a glimmer of hope, the overwhelming reality is that for a significant portion of the Indian population – particularly those from marginalised communities – justice remains painfully slow, unevenly delivered, and often tragically out of reach.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.